


The Invitation

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Friendship, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-21
Updated: 2013-01-21
Packaged: 2017-11-26 09:26:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/649090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Are you asking me out on a date?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Invitation

**Author's Note:**

> This story is derived completely from an idea Rebakitt3n posted on Tumblr called “How CM Season 8 Could’ve Gone”. She wrote, Strauss has some work parties she needs to go to and it's difficult avoiding drinking, both because it's there and it's expected of her. Rossi notices and offers to join her. After some snark, they find it works much better than either anticipated. I just knew there was a story to be written about that.

Dave looked up from his laptop when someone knocked on his door and he watched Erin Strauss walk in with a box of files. He stood up, tried to take them from her, but she refused. Typical Erin, he thought as she walked across the room and put them down on the table.

“You requested the Cherry Hill Cheerleader files.” She said.

“I thought Anderson was bringing them to me.”

“I decided to do it myself.”

“I see that.”

And then there was silence. There was awkward silence and that was something Dave Rossi wasn’t used to. He especially wasn’t used to it with her. They could fight, argue, debate, and go toe to toe but silence wasn’t usually an aspect of their relationship. 

Ever since they’d run into each other at the hotel and made the most of that one night together, things had been awkward. He thought it was going to happen again the next night at JJ and Will’s wedding but Erin disappeared when his attention was elsewhere. Since then there had been a million words but none of them said. The dividing lines were redrawn, she staying on her side and him being expected to stay on his. If Dave was one for obeying rules he wouldn’t be as far as he was in life.

“Is there any particular reason you're wiping the dust from this box, Agent Rossi?” her voice was full Section Chief as she took one file from the box, handed it to him, and sat in the chair across from his desk.

Rossi sat as well and held the case file. It was unsolved, ice cold, but that didn’t mean the five young women didn’t deserve some kind of justice. If his expertise could help even a little Rossi would sleep better at night. That’s what he told himself anyway. For every solved case there were five unsolved and three cases yet to come. That’s some of what kept Dave’s eyes open staring at the ceiling.

“I got a call from Detective Amy Stapleton yesterday morning. She’s with the Cherry Hill Police Department. Four days ago they found a body behind the bleachers of Cherry Hill High School East. It was 19 year old Maria Cisneros of Princeton. She was dressed like a cheerleader.”

“They think he's back.” Erin said.

“The case is back. It’s incredibly rare for a serial killer to hibernate for 26 years.”

“He could’ve been in prison.”

“Yes, and he’d be going right back picking up his M.O. and signature where he left off. As much as some don’t want to admit it to themselves the recidivist criminal learns new skills in prison, better skills. Even if he is obsessed with cheerleaders he’s not going to come out and do the same thing down to the letter.”

“You think it’s a copycat?” Erin asked.

“I have no idea. That’s why I requested that Detective Stapleton send me the file and then I requested the cold case work. I was there in 86 Erin.”

“I know. You already profiled this guy.”

“Maybe I missed something.” Dave said.

“Speaking of M.O., that has never been yours.”

“I'm going through this case with a fine-toothed comb.”

“Is the BAU going to Cherry Hill?” Erin asked.

“I don’t think it’s come to that yet. Not to be morbid but…”

“Another victim could show intent.” Erin finished his thought.

“More so than a random murder in a stadium, yes.” Dave nodded.

“The victim was from Princeton. Clearly she was taken from there and brought to Cherry Hill. Wasn’t that the case the first go round?”

“Erin, I'm going to work this.”

“Alone?”

“I will for now. I'm a fan of fresh eyes but I need to make myself familiar again with so many aspects. I don’t know if it’s for better or for worse but cases don’t stay with me like they used to.”

“There's always another right after.” She said.

“Truer words are rarely spoken.” Dave opened the file in his hand. An invitation sat on top. With crisp off-white paper and gold stitched font, Dave knew that it was brand new. It wasn’t part of the case he was working on. “What's this?”

“It’s an invitation.”

“An invitation to what?”

“The Foreign Service Institute is having a dinner to celebrate the work of James Thorsch. I've been invited.”

“From the looks of it I've been invited as well.” Dave held up the invitation.

“That’s my invitation.” She said.

“Then what's it doing in my file?”

“We’re allowed to bring a guest.”

“Are you asking me out on a date?” he raised an eyebrow. The smug smile on his face was automatic; Dave couldn’t have helped it if he tried. He wasn’t trying very hard.

“Absolutely not.” Erin shook her head.

“Well, that’s disappointing.”

“It’s just a dinner.”

“If it’s just a dinner why don’t you go on your own?” Dave asked.

“There's going to be a lot of drinking there and um…” she took a deep breath.

“Oh. Erin, I wasn’t even thinking…”

“Don’t do it.” she held up her hand. “Don’t do it alright?”

“Don’t do what?”

“I really don’t want you to say something that involves feeling sorry for me or for my pitiful state.”

“I've met quite a few pitiful people in my time.” Dave said. He laid the case file and the invitation on his desk. “Your name is never one that I would lump in with them.”

“Its not that I don’t believe I can stay sober.” Erin went on as if he hadn't even spoken. “I am quite confident in my abilities. It’s just that I can't decline many of these invitations; they're a part of my job. One of the hallmarks of sobriety is being with someone, or many someones, who help you to remember just how important it is not to pick up that drink.”

“And I'm your someone?” he asked.

“Don’t make this more difficult than it already is.” Erin sighed and stood up. “You know what, forget I asked. This was a bad idea. Just give me the invitation.” She held out her hand.

“No.”

“David…”

“You invited me for a reason.”

“Clearly I'm losing my mind.”

“I'm assuming its black tie.”

“You would assume correct.” She nodded.

“I look damn good in black tie.” Dave said.

“I don’t disagree.”

“And this invitation says that it’s Wednesday night.”

“I'm not even sure that you'll be in town.”

“I’ll be here; and I’ll be there too. I’ll pick you up at 7:30.”

“8:30 would be better.”

“You want to be late?” Dave asked.

“I want to be fashionably late. The beginning of these things is always dreadfully boring.”

“We could skip it altogether and get a reservation at Equinox.”

“Maybe some other time.” Erin said.

“So I scratch your back and you scratch mine.”

“You can come or you can not come David, I'm not scratching anything.”

“You used to be fun.”

“When?”

Dave laughed. He threw his head back and he actually laughed. Erin smiled, the glee making it all the way to her eyes. It didn’t do that a lot these days. It wasn’t that Erin wasn’t happy, well maybe happy was the wrong word. 

She was content. She worked hard at her job and felt lucky to still have it despite some recent stutter steps. Her family life was becoming more stable. She opened her life to friends again, old and new. Erin began to realize that the FBI wasn’t everything. 

It was a wonderful achievement and someplace she found happiness coming to every morning. But there was more to life than work success. It might take some time to find a place where all of her pieces fit together perfectly but Erin was working on it. Before she got sober she was just repressing it. She couldn’t do that anymore and survive.

“I remember this one time, in the bed of a beat up old Chevy…”

“Nevermind.” She held up her hand. “I'm sorry I asked.”

“I’ll pick you up at 8:00.” Dave said. “By the time we get through the traffic we’ll surely be as fashionable late as you want to be.”

“I appreciate this David.” Erin went to walk out of his office.

“I’ll also make a reservation in the near future for dinner. I don’t want to be presumptive but there is surely one night a week we don’t work until midnight.”

“These days I like going home at night. I'm making it a place I enjoy.”

“Then I’ll cook for you. You won't need to do a thing…leave everything to me.”

“I’ll see you on Wednesday.”

Erin walked out of the room because she didn’t quite know what to say next. David Rossi was a handful. She knew that when she walked into his office. But there was never a challenge that she didn’t face head on. 

She could handle him; at least she could try to handle him. And if it got out of control, as it sometimes could with the veteran profiler, this time Erin planned to let go and enjoy the ride. It had been some time since she treated herself to something good. She knew from past experience, even if it was only in small doses, David Rossi could be something good.

***


End file.
